Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is a Tabletop Roleplaying Game (TRPG) which offers playersthe chance to create and inhabit a fantastical hero in an equally fantastical world, creating ashared experience with their other players and the Game Master (GM) who facilitates play.Much research has examined D&D as an artifact, highlighting its problematic aspects and thepotential of the worlds and rules it presents as reinforcing real world hegemony orshortcoming such as male domination and racism. While building upon these ideas, thisresearch explores how players’ experiences in D&D interact with notions of heroism, how thegame presents what it means to be a hero and how it truly is experienced within my longtimeD&D playgroup. It does this through semi-structured interviews, to examine how the playersexperience the game, including my own reflections and input as GM for this group for anextended period of time. It utilizes the concepts of coloniality and hegemonic masculinity asframes for understanding the mechanics and narratives of D&D and how they interact withconceptualisations of heroism. Through thematic analysis of the interview data, it highlightswhere the players' experiences line up with conceptualisations of coloniality and hegemonicmasculinity, yet also highlights where players' experiences break with or undermine theseconcepts, highlighting alternatives that move away from colonial and masculine heroism.Ultimately determining that while these players understand heroism in D&D in ways whichreinforce or echo coloniality and hegemonic masculinity such as imperial violence, theiractual experiences with heroism are often removed from this, focusing more on collaborationand problem solving devoid of violence.

Digital games incorporate systems that allow players to customise and develop their controllable in-game representative (avatar) over the course of a game. Avatar customisation systems represent a point at which the goals and values of players interface with the intentions of the game developer forming a dynamic and complex relationship between system and user. With the proliferation of customisable avatars through digital games and the ongoing monetisation of customisation options through digital content delivery platforms it is important to understand the relationship between player and avatar in order to provide a better user experience and to develop an understanding of the cultural impact of the avatar. Previous research on avatar customisation has focused on the users of virtual worlds and massively multiplayer games, leaving single-player avatar experiences. These past studies have also typically focused on one particular aspect of avatar customisation and those that have looked at all factors involved in avatar customisation have done so with a very small sample. This research has aimed to address this gap in the literature by focusing primarily on avatar customisation features in single-player games, aiming to investigate the relationship between player and customisation systems from the perspective of the players of digital games. To fulfill the research aims and objectives, the qualitative approach of interpretative phenomenological analysis was adopted. Thirty participants were recruited using snowball and purposive sampling (the criteria being that participants had played games featuring customisable avatars) and accounts of their experiences were gathered through semi-structured interviews. Through this research, strategies of avatar customisation were explored in order to demonstrate how people use such systems. The shortcomings in game mechanics and user interfaces were highlighted so that future games can improve the avatar customisation experience.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

<p>Purpose/Aim: The aim of this paper is to study how guild leaders in World of Warcraft (WOW) and leaders of real life organizations compare in terms of tasks, every-day experiences, environment, responsibilities and motivation. This comparison is used to build a new theory describing leadership in Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs).</p><p>Material/Method: The paper uses the grounded theory approach to build a new theory. 12 interviews were conducted, six with WOW guild leaders and six with leaders of real life organizations. The Four Capacities Framework and the Leadership Grid were used to analyze and compare the results of the interviews.</p><p>Main results: Leadership in MMORPGs is as complex and challenging as real life leadership with the difference that it stresses the internal relationships of the organization very much while neglecting outside relations to a big extend. Guild leadership is in many ways similar to real life leadership as both require long term political decisions, policy setting and good work in the field of human resources. However, it stresses the ability to build working social relationships and to motivate using only digital communication. Some aspects of real life leadership like customer orientation and an organizational instance over the leader like an owner or share holders that the leader is responsible to are not existent.</p>

Parmi toutes nos activités, le travail occupe une place centrale dans nos sociétés et il n’échappe pas aux profondes transformations de la société. Les trajectoires professionnelles ne sont plus linéaires ni stables, elles introduisent moins les individus dans des collectifs socio-catégoriels. Comment les sujets se construisent-ils aujourd’hui ? Quel est l’impact de l’individualisation sur la dynamique identitaire socioprofessionnelle, dans un contexte où l’emprise catégorielle est en perte d’influence ? Cette thèse a comme objectif d’approfondir la question de l’identité et les méthodes qui s’y adjoignent dans un contexte organisationnel en profonde mutation. Je présenterai un cadre théorique pluridisciplinaire et une double démarche exploratoire (ego-écologique - Zavalloni, 2007), conduite auprès de sujets contrastés par leur expérience professionnelle. Nous pourrons ainsi observer la dynamique identitaire, ses composantes, ses relations, son contexte psychosocial, en faisant émerger les processus qui la sous-tendent. A l’heure des démarches compétences dans les organisations et de la personnalisation du travail, l’intégration du projet de soi (Kaddouri et Barbier, 2006) et du système capacitaire (Costalat-Founeau, 2009) comme fondements des dynamiques identitaires, ouvre de nouvelles perspectives à la compréhension des processus mis en œuvre dans la construction de soi et de réalisation de soi. Par voie de conséquence c’est la constitution du sujet de l’action qui est ici abordée. / Among all our activities, the work occupies a core place in our society and can not escape the profound social transformations. The career paths are not linear nor stable, they don’t introduce individuals in social categories as in the past. How individuals are built today? What is the impact of individualization on social and professional dynamics of identity in this context? This thesis is intended to deepen the question of the identity and its methods in a radically changing organizational context. I present a multi-pronged theoretical framework and a double exploratory approach (ego-ecological - Zavalloni, 2007), conducted with individuals opposed by their professional experience. We can thus observe the dynamics of identity, its components, its relationships, its psychosocial context, bringing out the processes that underlie it. At time of competencies management and personal work, the integration of the self-project (Kaddouri & Barbier, 2006) and the capabilities system (Costalat-Founeau, 2009), as the basis of identity dynamics, opens new perspectives for understanding the processes used in self-construction and self-realization. As a consequence it is the constitution of the subject of the action that is addressed here.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-08-17T13:20:08Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Bruno Ayres Razera.pdf: 1685514 bytes, checksum: 0f3c94e0ba6321b9ab0ecec435acdf70 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-17T13:20:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Bruno Ayres Razera.pdf: 1685514 bytes, checksum: 0f3c94e0ba6321b9ab0ecec435acdf70 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-06-26 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / The research investigates how the game mode Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), by strategic concomitance, directs the player to operate by the visibility, to build the meaning of their simulacra identity. Concomitance, according to linguistics, is the designation of one or more actions, things or facts that occur simultaneously; coexistence or simultaneity. In this study the strategic concomitance has the coexistence as the relation of a strategist sender with the subject that provides his own tactic in simultaneity, working values in a same logical line. The most popular game of the genre, World of Warcraft (WOW), is taken as an object, as the immersion of its players is sanctioned by its great geographic reach and number of users who remain, year after year, faithful to the product, generating a movement large volume financial instrument, as well as employing new electronic technology tools and practices. The act of playing keeps the subject in interaction with other subjects and in the operation of this visibility that they construct identity simulations, shaped by the enunciative choices to make-see. In the analysis of the game, the use of the device called "transmog" was used to transform the appearance of the player's equipment. Syntagmatic operations call the device in its placement in discourse and thus build the axiology that makes the subject have to be, a simulacrum of socialized doing that establishes visibility as its main value. The theoretical-methodological support for the analysis is given by the discursive semiotic theory of Greimas (2014, 2007, 2002), which structures the generative path of meaning, the basis of the construction of meaning. It is also supported by Landowski's (1992, 1997, 2013, 2014a, 2014b) socio-demographic concept that, through the regimes of meaning and interaction, as well as through the regimes of visibility, allows to elucidate lived practices of the participants and their simulacrums built in the game. The theories of other semioticians are also bases for the elaboration of the axiological taxonomy of transmog. The bibliographical references also include a review of the history of the games and the survey of works with this theme. To carry out the study, there are analyzes of the transmog phenomenon, highlighting the dynamics of the interactions of the audience of World of Warcraft; in short, the study of the discursive practices of this device in the game, surrounded by the regimes of visibility, meaning and interaction. It was possible, with this, to verify the hypothesis that the visibility values in the game allow to maintain and extend the immersion of the players in a continuity, corresponding to the social practices: transmog, this device in game, does not determine the values in game, as facilitator and computer of an axiological exchange shared to the player. In addition, this work contributed to the theoretical basis for the area of communication that deals with the strategies of the gaming industry / A pesquisa investiga como a modalidade de game Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), por concomitância estratégica, direciona o jogador a operar pela visibilidade, para a construção do sentido de seus simulacros identitários. Concomitância, de acordo com a linguística, é a designação de uma ou mais ações, coisas ou fatos que ocorrem em simultâneo; coexistência ou simultaneidade. Neste estudo a concomitância estratégica tem como coexistência a relação de um destinador estrategista com o sujeito que provê própria tática em simultaneidade, trabalhando valores em uma mesma linha lógica. O game World of Warcraft (WOW), mais popular do gênero, é tomado como objeto, pois a imersão de seus jogadores é sancionada por seu grande alcance geográfico e número de usuários que permanecem, ano após ano, fiéis ao produto, gerando uma movimentação financeira de grande volume, além de empregar instrumentos e práticas novas de tecnologias eletrônicas. O ato de jogar coloca o sujeito em interação com outros sujeitos e é na operação dessa visibilidade que são construídos simulacros identitários, moldados pelas escolhas enunciativas para fazer-ver. Recortou-se, na análise do game, o uso do dispositivo denominado como “transmog”, que consiste em permitir transformar esteticamente a aparência dos equipamentos do jogador. As operações sintagmáticas convocam o dispositivo na sua colocação em discurso e assim constroem a axiologia que faz o sujeito ter para ser, simulacro do fazer socializado que instaura a visibilidade como seu principal valor. O suporte teórico-metodológico para a análise é dado pela teoria semiótica discursiva de Greimas (2014; 2007; 2002), que estrutura o percurso gerativo de sentido, a base da construção da significação. Apoia-se também na sociossemiótica de Landowski (1992; 1997; 2013; 2014a; 2014b) que, pelos regimes de sentido e de interação, assim como pelos regimes de visibilidade, permite elucidar práticas vividas dos partícipes e do seu fazer em sociedade, pelos simulacros construídos no game. As teorias de outros semioticistas são também bases para a elaboração da taxonomia axiológica do transmog. Os referenciais bibliográficos incluem ainda uma revisão da história dos games e do levantamento de trabalhos com esta temática. Para realizar o estudo, há análises do fenômeno do transmog, destacando a dinâmica das interações do público de World of Warcraft; em minudência, a do estudo das práticas discursivas desse dispositivo no game, nos envoltos dos regimes de visibilidade, de sentido e de interação. Foi possível, com isso, verificar a hipótese de que os valores de visibilidade no game possibilitam manter e ampliar a imersão dos jogadores em uma continuidade, correspondente às práticas sociais: o transmog, este dispositivo in game, não determina os valores em jogo, funcionando como facilitador e ordenador de um câmbio axiológico partilhado ao jogador. Além disso, este trabalho contribuiu para o embasamento teórico para a área da comunicação que trata das estratégias da indústria dos games

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:40:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Paula Pinheiro Varela Guimaraes.pdf: 4140143 bytes, checksum: 4ad4963b5a2b0730ae300b79eec5a50a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-05-21 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study aimed to seek an understanding of the meaning of the experience of R.P.G. games the light of Jungian Theory and as a secondary objective, list the steps of the hero journey of Joseph Campbell and the reports of the study subjects about the experience of R.P.G. games and try to understand what the exercise of heroic figure and the experience of the heroic journey with R.P.G. and bring developments to the study subjects in their real lives. It was used the theoretical framework of Analytical Psychology to contemplate the goals of this research through its concepts and the possibility of symbolic analysis of the phenomenon studied. It were made twenty semi-directed, through which it is noted that the main objective of the research was related to the construction and performance of a heroic character, and even identified content related to the stages of the heroic journey developed by Joseph Campbell, which gave rise to the secondary objectives of this research. The interviews also allowed up categories of analysis, subsequently submitted to a qualitative and quantitative analysis. These were called to the adventure, head to the unknown, apprehension of new content, physical prowess and / or spiritual, the uniqueness claim, sacrifice, otherness, refusing to return and return. These categories were correlated with the following data: age, sex, religion, professional area, playing time and favorite game. Only correlation was found between stage of the heroic journey and reached game. It was concluded that each type of game favors the experience, integration and overcoming certain stage of the heroic journey, because the focuses. By choosing the experience of a heroic character and then determined type game, the subjects respond to a need for a personal development as they choose a representative character of the expansion of consciousness and ego strength, and a game that allow you a stage of the journey heroic in what they are, so that they can evolve their processes of individuation. Thus, the choice and experience of the R.P.G. game be enable a gradual move towards himself / Essa pesquisa teve como objetivo principal buscar uma compreensão acerca do sentido da vivência dos jogos de R.P.G. à luz da Teoria Junguiana e como objetivos secundários, relacionar as etapas da jornada do herói de Joseph Campbell e os relatos dos sujeitos de pesquisa a respeito da vivência dos jogos de R.P.G. e buscar compreender o que o exercício da figura do herói e a vivência da jornada heróica, nos jogos de R.P.G., trazem como desdobramentos para os sujeitos de pesquisa em suas vidas reais. Utilizou-se o referencial teórico da Psicologia Analítica por contemplar os objetivos da presente pesquisa através de seus conceitos e pela possibilidade de análise simbólica do fenômeno estudado. Foram realizadas vinte entrevistas semi-dirigidas, através das quais foi possível perceber que o objetivo principal da pesquisa estava relacionado à construção e exercício de um personagem heróico, sendo, inclusive, identificados conteúdos referentes às etapas da jornada heróica elaborada por Joseph Campbell, o que deu origem aos objetivos secundários dessa pesquisa. As entrevistas, também, permitiram levantar categorias de análise, posteriormente, submetidas a uma análise quali-quantitativa. Essas foram: chamado à aventura, rumar ao desconhecido, apreensão de novos conteúdos, proezas físicas e/ou espirituais, reclamo pela singularidade, sacrifício, alteridade, recusa do retorno e retorno. Tais categorias foram correlacionadas com os seguintes dados: idade, sexo, religião, área de formação profissional, tempo de jogo e jogo preferido. Apenas foi encontrada correlação entre etapa da jornada heróica atingida e jogo preferido. Concluiu-se que cada tipo de jogo favorece a experiência, integração e superação de certa etapa da jornada heróica, pois a tem como foco. Ao escolherem a vivência de um personagem heróico e, então, determinado tipo jogo, os sujeitos respondem a uma necessidade pessoal de desenvolvimento, pois optam por um personagem representativo da ampliação de consciência e fortalecimento egóico, e um jogo que permite trabalhar a etapa da jornada heróica na qual se encontram, de modo a poderem evoluir em seus processos de individuação. Desse modo, a escolha e vivência de jogos de R.P.G. viabilizam o progressivo caminhar rumo a si mesmo

O objetivo do presente estudo, fundamentado na Epistemologia Genética de Jean Piaget (1932-1994), foi averiguar se o Roleplaying Game (RPG), também denominado Jogo das Representações, constitui recurso favorável ao desencadeamento de atividades relacionadas à cooperação e à capacidade de negociação, entendidas como próprias do desenvolvimento da moral autônoma. Por considerar que nesse jogo tais elementos acham-se imbricados na participação dos jogadores e em sua capacidade de solucionar problemas, foram explorados também esses aspectos, visando o enriquecimento da discussão dos resultados. Os dados analisados foram coletados no contexto de pesquisa desenvolvida em 2003 e 2004, nas dependências de um Centro Educacional Unificado (CEU), na zona sul da capital de São Paulo por uma equipe de pesquisa composta de um pesquisador, um auxiliar de pesquisa e dois mestres de jogo. Na ocasião os objetivos do trabalho foram outros. Dos 12 encontros do grupo de 7 participantes, todos do sexo masculino, com idades entre 11 e 27 anos, 9 foram dedicados a sessões de RPG, a primeira das quais preparatória. Os recursos e instrumentos de coleta de dados incluíram, além do registro em áudio e vídeo e da observação das sessões de jogo, entrevistas realizadas no início e no final do processo. Para a finalidade da presente pesquisa os dados foram submetidos a uma nova leitura, agora sob a ótica das relações entre o RPG e aspectos da moral autônoma. Foram utilizadas como categorias de análise as capacidades de cooperação e negociação e como a participação dos jogadores e sua competência para solucionar problemas. As análises realizadas permitiram concluir que o RPG mostra-se útil como recurso para a mobilização da cooperação e da negociação, aspectos da moral autônoma, e para a atuação em grupo e para o exercício da resolução de problemas. Com isto verifica-se que, como afirmara Piaget (1932/1994), a cooperação é de fato um principio ético e moral e dispõe de um método que pode ser desenvolvido utilizando-se recursos adequados para isto. / This dissertation is based on Jean Piaget\'s Genetic Epistemology (1932/1994). The main objective of this study was to ascertain whether the Role-playing Game (RPG), also known as Game of Representations, constitutes a helpful resource to the unleashing of activities related to cooperation and capacity for bargain. These two aspects can be considered peculiar to the development of autonomous morality, and they are imbricate in the players\' participation in game and their ability to solve problems. Therefore were looked aiming to assess the data in a more dense perspective. The data used for analyses were first collected in a Unified Educational Centre (CEU - Centro Educacional Unificado) in the south side of São Paulo city in 2003/4 within the scope of a previous research. The researching team comprised one senior researcher, one assistant and two game masters. Were performed twelve meetings with a group of seven participants, all of them males between 11 and 27 years-old. Nine of those meetings were dedicated to RPG workshops. The first one was a preparatory meeting. To collect data were is used audio and video recordings and also observation and interviews at the beginning and at the end of the whole process. In order to serve the purpose of the present study, the data was submitted under the bias of the relationship between RPG and aspects of autonomous morality. The concepts of cooperation, capacity for bargain and ability to solve problems were used as analytic categories. The conclusion of this study is RPG is in fact a helpful resource for the mobilization to exercise the cooperation and capacity for bargain as aspects of autonomous morality, and to exercise teamwork and problem-solving abilities as well. Thus were possible verified Piaget\'s (1932/1994) conclusion that cooperation is much more than a moral and ethical principle. Cooperation is a skill that can be developed as method with adequate resources to do so.

<p>The purpose of this essay was to do a research about if the language in Swedish role-playing books is used correctly and if the composition along with the possible language errors makes the books hard to understand.</p><p>This research was also about to find out why these problems occurs and if the authors are aware of them.</p><p>I choose books from two Swedish role-playing games, <em>Eon</em> and <em>Drakar och Demoner</em>. I read them trough, noted the mistakes made and put them together in a scoring table. I also did a LIX-test on the books and interviewed one of the authors.</p><p>The results shows that the books to <em>Eon</em> is harder to read than the books to <em>Drakar och Demoner</em> and this agrees with the vision the authors of the books claims to have.</p><p>The results also shows that it is not only the language mistakes and the composition that makes the books hard to read, but also the choice of difficult words and badly formulated rules.</p>

<p>Massiva onlinerollspel är idag mycket populära och försäljningen och spelandet utav dessa ökar markant. I och med detta väcks frågan om vad det är i dessa onlinespel som gör att människor spelar och fortsätter spela. Denna uppsats inriktas främst mot MMORPG:s, Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games, då författarna anser att det är i denna onlinespelsgenre den största möjligheten att finna och definiera de faktorer, som påverkar</p><p>spelares vilja att spela, finns. För att ta reda på dessa faktorer skapades en enkät vars frågor utformades med en gameflowmodell i baktanken. Denna enkät lades sedan ut på sex olika onlinespelsanknutna forum, där totalt 105 spelare anonymt deltog. Den bygger dock även på tidigare gjorda undersökningar och rapporter om onlinespelandets anledningar, analyserade artiklar inom ämnet MMORPG spel och sist men inte minst författarnas egna erfarenheter utav MMORPG spel.</p>